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Abstract:

A display control apparatus includes a number of items determining unit
which determines the number of selection items to be simultaneously
displayed in an item selection list on an operating screen based on a
selection of a button on the operating screen, a position determining
unit which determines an upper end position of the item selection list on
the operating screen to be a position so that a part of the selection
items in the item selection list is displayed in a direction inverse to a
normal extending direction of the selection item list with a position of
the selected button as a reference based on a comparison of the number of
the selection items to be simultaneously displayed with the displayable
number of selection items on the operating screen, and a generating unit
which generates the item selection list on the operating screen based on
the determined position.

Claims:

1. A display control apparatus, comprising: a number of items determining
unit which determines the number of selection items to be simultaneously
displayed in an item selection list on an operating screen based on a
selection of a button on the operating screen; a position determining
unit which determines an upper end position of the item selection list on
the operating screen to be a position so that a part of the selection
items in the item selection list is displayed in a direction inverse to a
normal extending direction of the selection item list with a position of
the selected button as a reference based on a comparison of the number of
the selection items to be simultaneously displayed with the displayable
number of selection items on the operating screen; and a generating unit
which generates the item selection list on the operating screen based on
the determined position.

2. The display control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the
position determining unit determines the upper end position of the item
selection list on the operating screen to be a position so that a part of
the selection items in the item selection list is displayed in the
direction inverse to the normal extending direction of the selection item
list with the position of the selected button as the reference when a
part of the selection items in the item selection list is not
simultaneously displayed in the normal extending direction of the item
selection list.

3. The display control apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein: the
position determining unit determines the upper end position of the item
selection list on the operating screen to be a position so that the
number of the selection items unable to be simultaneously displayed in
the normal extending direction of the item selection list is displayed in
the direction inverse to the normal extending direction of the item
selection list.

4. The display control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further
comprising: a displayable number of items calculating unit which
calculates the displayable number of the selection items in the item
selection list on the operating screen based on a displayable range of
the selection items on the operating screen and a height of each
selection item.

5. The display control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the
number of items determining unit determines the number of the selection
items to be simultaneously displayed based on a first definition
information which defines the maximum displayable number of the selection
items and a second definition information which defines the number of
selection items to be allocated in the item selection list.

6. The display control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the
position determining unit determines the upper end of the item selection
list to be a position based on a position of the selected button on the
operating screen.

7. The display control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the
generating unit changes a displaying position of a character string
signifying the name of the item selection list to a position where the
character string does not overlap the item selection list.

8. The display control apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein: the
generating unit changes the displaying position of the character string
onto the upper end position of the item selection list.

9. The display control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the
generating unit generates a scroll item in the item selection list when
the number of the selection items to be simultaneously displayed exceeds
the displayable number of the selection items on the operating screen.

10. A display control method in a display control apparatus, comprising:
a number of items determining step which determines the number of
selection items to be simultaneously displayed in an item selection list
on an operating screen based on a selection of a button on the operating
screen; a position determining step which determines an upper end
position of the item selection list on the operating screen to be a
position so that a part of the selection items in the item selection list
is displayed in a direction inverse to a normal extending direction of
the selection item list with a position of the selected button as a
reference based on a comparison of the number of the selection items to
be simultaneously displayed with the displayable number of selection
items on the operating screen; and a generating step which generates the
item selection list on the operating screen based on the determined
position.

11. The display control method as claimed in claim 10, wherein: the
position determining step determines the upper end position of the item
selection list on the operating screen to be a position so that a part of
the selection items in the item selection list is displayed in the
direction inverse to the normal extending direction of the selection item
list with the position of the selected button as the reference when a
part of the selection items in the item selection list is not
simultaneously displayed in the normal extending direction of the item
selection list.

12. The display control method as claimed in claim 11, wherein: the
position determining step determines the upper end position of the item
selection list on the operating screen to be a position so that the
number of the selection items unable to be simultaneously displayed in
the normal extending direction of the item selection list is displayed in
the direction inverse to the normal extending direction of the item
selection list.

13. The display control method as claimed in claim 10, further
comprising: a displayable number of items calculating step which
calculates the displayable number of the selection items in the item
selection list on the operating screen based on a displayable range of
the selection items on the operating screen and a height of each
selection item.

14. The display control method as claimed in claim 10, wherein: the
number of items determining step determines the number of the selection
items to be simultaneously displayed based on a first definition
information which defines the maximum displayable number of the selection
items and a second definition information which defines the number of
selection items to be allocated in the item selection list.

15. The display control method as claimed in claim 10, wherein: the
position determining step determines the upper end of the item selection
list to be a position based on a position of the selected button on the
operating screen.

16. The display control method as claimed in claim 10, wherein: the
generating step changes a displaying position of a character string
signifying the name of the item selection list to a position where the
character string does not overlap the item selection list.

17. The display control method as claimed in claim 16, wherein: the
generating step changes the displaying position of the character string
onto the upper end position of the item selection list.

18. The display control method as claimed in claim 10, wherein: the
generating step generates a scroll item in the item selection list when
the number of the selection items to be simultaneously displayed exceeds
the displayable number of the selection items on the operating screen.

19. A computer-readable recording medium storing a display control
program executable in a display control apparatus, wherein: the display
control program includes a number of items determining step which
determines the number of selection items to be simultaneously displayed
in an item selection list on an operating screen based on a selection of
a button on the operating screen; a position determining step which
determines an upper end position of the item selection list on the
operating screen to be a position so that a part of the selection items
in the item selection list is displayed in a direction inverse to a
normal extending direction of the selection item list with a position of
the selected button as a reference based on a comparison of the number of
the selection items to be simultaneously displayed with the displayable
number of selection items on the operating screen; and a generating step
which generates the item selection list on the operating screen based on
the determined position.

20. The computer-readable recording medium storing the display control
program executable in the display control apparatus as claimed in claim
19, wherein: in the display control program the position determining step
determines the upper end position of the item selection list on the
operating screen to be a position so that a part of the selection items
in the item selection list is displayed in the direction inverse to the
normal extending direction of the selection item list with the position
of the selected button as the reference when a part of the selection
items in the item selection list is not simultaneously displayed in the
normal extending direction of the item selection list.

Description:

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No.
12/193,915, filed Aug. 19, 2008, which is based on Japanese Priority
Patent Application No. 2007-221411, filed on Aug. 28, 2007, with the
Japanese Patent Office, the entire contents of each of which are hereby
incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention generally relates to a display control
apparatus, a display control method, and a computer-readable recording
medium storing a display control program in which an operating screen is
displayed on an operating panel of the apparatus.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] Recently, in image forming apparatuses (display control apparatus)
such as a copying machine and an MFP (multifunctional peripheral),
multiple functions have been installed. The number of buttons to be
displayed on an operating panel has been increased corresponding to the
multiple functions of the image forming apparatus. However, the
displaying region of the operating panel of the image forming apparatus
is smaller than that of a PC (personal computer), an ATM (automatic
teller machine), and so on; consequently, many buttons cannot be
displayed on the operating panel of the image forming apparatus. In order
to solve the above problem, a user interface corresponding to the
multiple functions of the image forming apparatus has been realized by
using a multiple-layered operating screen on the operating panel. For
example, when a button is pushed on an operating screen of the operating
panel, another operating screen is displayed on the operating panel so
that detailed information can be input on the operating panel (for
example, in Patent Document 1). [0006][Patent Document 1] Japanese
Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2006-505025

[0007] However, when the multiple-layered operating screen is used, the
number of input steps is increased from selecting a function to starting
the function (pushing a start button of the function). When the number of
the input steps is increased, the operating time is increased and this
bothers the user. Especially, when a user operates an image forming
apparatus which is used in common by many users in an office, another
user must wait for his/her job until the user finishes the current job
and the user feels a psychological burden.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is
provided a display control apparatus, a display control method, and a
computer-readable recording medium storing a display control program in
which operability of an operating screen by a user is increased.

[0009] Features and advantages of the present invention are set forth in
the description that follows, and in part will become apparent from the
description and the accompanying drawings, or may be learned by practice
of the invention according to the teachings provided in the description.
Features and advantages of the present invention will be realized and
attained by a display control apparatus, a display control method, and a
computer-readable recording medium storing a display control program
particularly pointed out in the specification in such full, clear,
concise, and exact terms so as to enable a person having ordinary skill
in the art to practice the invention.

[0010] To achieve one or more of these and other advantages, according to
one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display control
apparatus. The display control apparatus includes a number of items
determining unit which determines the number of selection items to be
simultaneously displayed in an item selection list on an operating screen
based on a selection of a button on the operating screen, a position
determining unit which determines an upper end position of the item
selection list on the operating screen to be a position so that a part of
the selection items in the item selection list is displayed in a
direction inverse to a normal extending direction of the selection item
list with a position of the selected button as a reference based on a
comparison of the number of the selection items to be simultaneously
displayed with the displayable number of selection items on the operating
screen, and a generating unit which generates the item selection list on
the operating screen based on the determined position.

Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to an embodiment of the present invention, in a display
control apparatus, when a button is selected on an operating screen, an
item selection list having selection items to be selected is displayed.
Therefore, the operability of the display control apparatus can be
increased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Features and advantages of the present invention will become more
apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0013]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware structure of a display
control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0014]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a software structure of the display
control apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

[0015]FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operating screen for describing
operations of a pull-down list according to the embodiment of the present
invention;

[0016]FIG. 4 is a first operating diagram showing the operating screen
for describing the operations of the pull-down list according to the
embodiment of the present invention;

[0017]FIG. 5 is a second operating diagram showing the operating screen
for describing the operations of the pull-down list according to the
embodiment of the present invention;

[0018]FIG. 6 is a third operating diagram showing the operating screen
for describing the operations of the pull-down list according to the
embodiment of the present invention;

[0019]FIG. 7 is a fourth operating diagram showing the operating screen
for describing the operations of the pull-down list according to the
embodiment of the present invention;

[0020]FIG. 8 is a fifth operating diagram showing the operating screen
for describing the operations of the pull-down list according to the
embodiment of the present invention;

[0021]FIG. 9 is a sixth operating diagram showing the operating screen
for describing the operations of the pull-down list according to the
embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] FIG. 10 is a seventh operating diagram showing the operating screen
for describing the operations of the pull-down list according to the
embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] FIG. 11 is a sequence chart showing processes to generate a
pull-down list according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing processes when a controlling section
determines the number of selection items per page of the pull-down list;

[0026]FIG. 14 is a diagram showing transition screen information of a
pull-down list;

[0027]FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of function information of
the pull-down list;

[0028]FIG. 16 is a diagram showing function detail information of a third
selection item shown in FIG. 15;

[0029] FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing processes when the operating section
calculates a displaying position of the pull-down list;

[0030]FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an X coordinate value in the operating
screen shown in FIG. 13;

[0031]FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a distance from the upper end of a
title to the lower end of a displayable range in the operating screen
shown in FIG. 13;

[0032] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the displayable number of the
selection items in a distance on the operating screen shown in FIG. 13;

[0033]FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the operating screen when the number
of the selection items including the title per page of the pull-down list
received from the controlling section exceeds by one the basic
displayable number of the selection items;

[0034]FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing processes for sending information of
the selection items to the operating section from the controlling
section;

[0035]FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing processes for generating the
selection items by the operating section;

[0036]FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an operating screen when a scroll item
is displayed in a pull-down list;

[0038]FIG. 26 is a diagram showing function information of the pull-down
list shown in FIG. 24;

[0039]FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an operating screen in which the same
three pull-down buttons are displayed at corresponding different
positions as an assumption; and

[0040]FIG. 28 is a diagram showing the operating screen in which the same
three pull-down lists are displayed at corresponding different positions
as an assumption.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Best Mode of Carrying Out the Invention

[0041] The best mode of carrying out the present invention is described
with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0042]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware structure of a display
control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In
the embodiment of the present invention, an image forming apparatus is
used as the display control apparatus. In FIG. 1, as the image forming
apparatus, an MFP is shown.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 1, an MFP 1 includes a controller 201, an
operating panel 202, an FCU (facsimile control unit) 203, an image taking
section 121, and a printing section 122.

[0045] The CPU 211 controls all the elements in the controller 201. The
ASIC 212 executes various image processes. The MEM-P 231 is a system
memory unit of the MFP 1. The MEM-C 232 is a local memory unit of the MFP
1. A memory card 235 is inserted into the memory card slot 234. The NIC
241 controls network communications by using an MAC (media access
control) address.

[0046] The USB I/F 242 connects the MFP 1 to an external USB terminal. The
IEEE 1394 I/F 243 connects the MFP 1 to an external IEEE 1394 terminal.
The Centronics I/F 244 connects the MFP 1 to an external Centronics
terminal. A user inputs an instruction on the operating panel 202 and the
result is displayed on the operating panel 202.

[0047]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a software structure of the display
control apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the MFP 1
is used as the display control apparatus. The MFP 1 includes an operating
section 11, a controlling section 12, and screen information 13.

[0048] The operating section 11 controls displaying an operating screen on
a displaying region (touch panel) of the operating panel 202. For
example, the operating section 11 calculates a displaying position of the
operating screen in the displaying region and displays the operating
screen at the calculated displaying position.

[0049] The controlling section 12 controls a transition of operating
screens based on operations of a user on the operating panel 202. For
example, the controlling section 12 determines a screen to be displayed
corresponding to a selection of a button on an operating screen and
instructs the operating section 11 to display the determined operating
screen.

[0050] In the screen information 13, information is defined for generating
operating screens, and the screen information 13 is stored in, for
example, the HDD 233.

[0051] The operating section 11 and the controlling section 12 are
realized when the CPU 211 executes a program stored in the MEM-P 231 or
the MEM-C 232.

[0052] The MFP 1 displays a pull-down list (item selection list) on an
operating screen of the operating panel 202. The pull-down list is a menu
type window having one or more selection items to be displayed on the
operating screen when a button is selected on the operating screen. The
pull-down list includes a pull-down menu, a context menu, and a list box
(list type window) when a combo box is used.

[0053] Next, operations of the pull-down list are described. FIG. 3 is a
diagram showing an operating screen for describing the operations of the
pull-down list according to the embodiment of the present invention. In
the embodiment of the present invention, the up and down directions and
the right and left directions on the operating screen are directions for
a user who faces the operating screen.

[0054] In FIG. 3, A4 signifies the size of paper of 210 mm×297 mm,
A3 signifies the size of paper of 297 mm×420 mm, and B4 signifies
the size of paper of 257 mm×364 mm.

[0055] In an operating screen 500 shown in FIG. 3, when pull-down buttons
510b, 520b, 530b, 540b, 550b, 560b, 570b, and 580b are pushed (selected),
corresponding pull-down lists are displayed on the operating screen 500.
In addition, the pull-down buttons 530b, 540b, 550b, 560b, 570b, and 580b
have corresponding titles 530t, 540t, 550t, 560t, 570t, and 580t above
the pull-down buttons. The title is a character string which simply shows
the name of a pull-down list. In FIG. 3, status information, for example,
a log-in user name, a system status, and a message for the user, is
displayed on a status displaying area 590.

[0056] Referring to FIGS. 4 through 10, the operations of the pull-down
list are described in detail. FIG. 4 is a first operating diagram showing
the operating screen for describing the operations of the pull-down list
according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 4, as an example, when the pull-down button 530b
is selected, a pull-down list 530p is displayed under the pull-down
button 530b. In the embodiment of the present invention, basically, the
pull-down list is displayed under the pull-down button. The height (the
length in the vertical direction) of the pull-down list is determined by
the number of items to be selected (the number of selection items). In
FIG. 4, as an example, the pull-down list 530p includes four selection
items.

[0058] In the embodiment of the present invention, the pull-down list is
displayed in a displayable range H shown in FIG. 4. If the pull-down list
is displayed over the displayable range H, the status displaying area 590
is obscured by the pull-down list. Consequently, the operability is
decreased. Therefore, the displayable range H is determined.

[0059]FIG. 5 is a second operating diagram showing the operating screen
for describing the operations of the pull-down list according to the
embodiment of the present invention.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 5, even if the number of the selection items of
the pull-down list 530p is increased to five, when the lower end of the
pull-down list 530p does not overlap the status displaying area 590, the
pull-down list 530p having the five selection items is displayed in the
downward direction.

[0061] However, in FIG. 5, when the number of the selection items of the
pull-down list 530p is increased to six or more, the lower end of the
pull-down list 530p overlaps the status displaying area 590. That is, the
pull-down list 530p exceeds the lower end of the displayable range H. In
this case, it can be assumed that the displayable number of the selection
items at the same time is determined to be five and the selection items
on and after the sixth selection item are displayed by scrolling.

[0062]FIG. 6 is a third operating diagram showing the operating screen
for describing the operations of the pull-down list according to the
embodiment of the present invention.

[0063] In the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6,
when the number of the selection items of the pull-down list 530p is
increased to six or more, the displaying position of the pull-down list
530p can be extended in the upward direction. With this, a user interface
having high operability can be realized without scrolling operations.
However, when the pull-down list 530p is extended in the upward
direction, the upper part of the pull-down list 530p overlaps the title
530t and the title 530t cannot be displayed. In order to solve the above
problem, the displaying position of the title 530t is shifted to an upper
position so that the pull-down list 530p does not overlap the title 530t
corresponding to the shift of the pull-down list 530p. In FIG. 6, the
title 530t is shifted to a position above the pull-down list 530p. With
this, all the selection items of the pull-down list 530p can be
displayed.

[0064]FIG. 7 is a fourth operating diagram showing the operating screen
for describing the operations of the pull-down list according to the
embodiment of the present invention.

[0065] In a case where the number of the selection items is further
increased, as shown in FIG. 7, when the sum of the heights of the title
530t and the pull-down list 530p is within the displayable range H, all
the selection items can be displayed at the same time by moving the
displaying position of the pull-down list 530p in the upward direction by
the increment of the selection items.

[0066]FIG. 8 is a fifth operating diagram showing the operating screen
for describing the operations of the pull-down list according to the
embodiment of the present invention.

[0067] When the number of selection items in the pull-down list 530p is
increased to exceed the displayable range H, as shown in FIG. 8, a scroll
item 530s is displayed at a part of the pull-down list 530p. In the
pull-down list 530p of FIG. 8, the lowest region of the pull-down list
530p is used as a region where the scroll item 530s is displayed. When
the arrow in the scroll item 530s is pushed (touched), the pull-down list
530p is changed from page to page.

[0068] In FIG. 8, for example, the first page in three pages of the
pull-down list 530p is displayed. In FIG. 9, the second page in the three
pages of the pull-down list 530p is displayed, and in FIG. 10, the third
page in the three pages of the pull-down list 530p is displayed. When the
number of the selection items is less than the maximum number in the
displayable range H in the last page, a blank item(s) can be displayed in
the pull-down list 530p. In addition, the height of the pull-down list
530p in the last page can be reduced.

[0069]FIG. 9 is a sixth operating diagram showing the operating screen
for describing the operations of the pull-down list according to the
embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a seventh operating
diagram showing the operating screen for describing the operations of the
pull-down list according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0070] In the above pull-down list 530p, the selection items are scrolled
page by page; however, the selection items can be scrolled item by item.

[0071] Next, processes in the MFP 1 are described in which the operations
of the pull-down list 530p are realized. FIG. 11 is a sequence chart
showing processes to generate a pull-down list.

[0072] First, when a pull-down button is selected (pushed) on the
operating screen 500 of the operating panel 202, the operating section 11
sends a report that the pull-down button has been selected with an
identifier (ID) of the selected pull-down button to the controlling
section 12 (S101). The controlling section 12 determines a pull-down list
to be generated based on the identifier of the selected pull-down button
as a new window to be displayed, and determines the number of selection
items per page of the pull-down list, and sends the determined results
with the identifier to the operating section 11 (S102). That is, the
controlling section 12 instructs the operating section 11 to generate the
pull-down list in S102. In this, the number of selection items per page
signifies that the selection items are displayed at the same time. Since
the operating section 11 has not held the identifier, the controlling
section 12 sends the identifier together with the determined results.

[0073] The operating section 11 calculates (determines) the displaying
position (coordinates) of the pull-down list based on the number of the
selection items per page (S103). The displaying position is determined so
that the operations of the pull-down list shown in FIGS. 4 through 10 are
realized. The operating section 11 generates the pull-down list based on
the determined displaying position and the number of the selection items
per page, and displays the pull-down list (S104). The generated pull-down
list is displayed on the operating screen 500 of the operating panel 202
at the determined position. At this time, the selection items in the
pull-down list have not been generated. The operating section 11 sends a
report that the pull-down list has been generated to the controlling
section 12 (S105). The controlling section 12 stores information that the
pull-down list is being displayed in a memory unit, for example, the HDD
233.

[0074] The controlling section 12 determines information of selection
items (ID (identifier) of each item, a displaying character string of
each item, a displaying position of the displaying character string, and
so on) based on the screen information 13, and sends the determined
results (information) to the operating section 11 (S106).

[0075] The operating section 11 generates the selection items on the
pull-down list based on the information received from the controlling
section 12, and displays the pull-down list having the selection items
(S107). If necessary, at this time, a scroll item is generated. When the
selection items are generated, the selection items are listed on the
pull-down list. The operating section 11 sends a report that the
pull-down list having the selection items has been generated to the
controlling section (S108).

[0076] In the above, the generated pull-down list is displayed in S104 and
S107; however, it is possible that the generated pull-down list is not
displayed in S104 and S107. In this case, in S104 and S107, the pull-down
list is only generated, and when the MFP 1 receives an instruction to
display the generated pull-down list, the pull-down list is displayed.

[0077] Next, processes in S102 shown in FIG. 11 by the controlling section
12 are described when the controlling section 12 determines the number of
the selection items per page of the pull-down list. FIG. 12 is a
flowchart showing processes when the controlling section 12 determines
the number of the selection items per page of the pull-down list.

[0078] First, the controlling section 12 receives a report that a
pull-down button has been selected from the operating section 11 (S201).
This process corresponds to the process in S101 of FIG. 11. That is, the
controlling section 12 receives the identifier of the selected pull-down
button.

[0079] Next, the controlling section 12 obtains transition screen
information corresponding to the selected pull-down button based on the
identifier of the selected pull-down button and analyzes the information
(S202). In the transition screen information, a layout of a screen to be
changed (transitioned) from a current screen based on an instruction on
the current screen is defined on an operating screen. The transition
screen information is a part of the screen information 13. The transition
screen information is stored by being correlated with the identifier of
the selected pull-down button in, for example, the HDD 233.

[0080] The screen information 13 is described based on an operating screen
shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an operating screen 600
for describing the screen information 13.

[0081] In FIG. 13 (a), pull-down buttons 610b and 620b are displayed on
the operating screen 600. In addition, a title 610t of the pull-down
button 610b and a title 620t of the pull-down button 620b are displayed.
When the pull-down button 610b is selected, a pull-down list 610p shown
in FIG. 13 (b) is displayed. That is, a transition screen changed from
the screen shown in FIG. 13(a) is the screen shown in FIG. 13(b) when the
pull-down button 610b is selected. That is, in the changed screen shown
in FIG. 13(b), the pull-down list 610p is displayed. In FIG. 13(b), the
displayable range H of the pull-down list 610p is shown. That is, as
described above, the transition screen information is a part of the
screen information 13.

[0082] The transition screen information correlated with the pull-down
button 610b (that is, the information of the structure of the pull-down
list 610p) is defined as follows. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing transition
screen information 131 of the pull-down list 610p. In FIG. 14, the
transition screen information 131 (first definition information) is
described in an XML format. In XML, data between tags are called an
element.

[0083] In the transition screen information 131 shown in FIG. 14, a layout
element is defined as a root element. A value "PDTemplate2" of a name
attribute 1312 of the layout element shows an identifier (ID) of a screen
layout defined in the transition screen information 131.

[0084] A screen type is defined by a sub-element of the layout element. In
the transition screen information 131, a pull-down list element 1311 is a
sub-element of the layout element. Therefore, the transition screen is
recognized as a pull-down list. A value "PLOTTER_DOC_PAPER_FACE" of a
content attribute 1313 in the pull-down list element 1311 is an ID of
function information in which selection items to be allocated in the
pull-down list are defined. The function information is described below.

[0086] The list item elements 1313-1 through 1313-5 define a layout of the
selection items. In more detail, the number of the list item elements
defines the maximum displayable number of the selection items at the same
time in the displayable range H. In FIG. 14, since the five list item
elements 1313-1 through 1313-5 are described, the maximum displayable
number of the selection items is five in the displayable range H.

[0087] In the transition screen information 131, the selection items to be
actually allocated in the pull-down list are not defined. That is, for
example, three selection items shown in FIG. 13(b) are not defined. The
selection items to be actually allocated in the pull-down list are
defined by the function information. The maximum displayable number of
the selection items is determined by the displayable range H and the
corresponding heights of the selection items when the screen layout is
designed. However, in this case, the height of the title must be
considered and the maximum displayable number of the selection items is
determined by including the height of the title.

[0088] In the icon element 1314, image data to be displayed at a
background of a header (a part where the title 610t shown in FIG. 13) of
the pull-down list 610p are defined.

[0089] In the text element 1315, a character string "DocumentSurface" of
the title 610t is defined.

[0090] In the push button elements 1316 and 1317, scroll items are
defined. The push button element 1316 is used to turn pages and the push
button element 1317 is used to return pages. However, as described in
FIGS. 8 through 10, the scroll item is used only when it is required.

[0091] In the icon element 1318, image data to be displayed at a
background of a footer (a part where the scroll item is displayed) of the
pull-down list 610p are defined.

[0092] Returning to FIG. 12, the controlling section 12 determines whether
a pull-down list is to be displayed based on the obtained transition
screen information 131 or whether another pull-down list is being
displayed when the pull-down list is to be displayed (S203). In the
transition screen information 131, when a sub-element of the layout
element is a pull-down list element, the controlling section 12
determines that the pull-down list is to be displayed. When another
pull-down list is being displayed, since the controlling section 12 has
stored the information in the HDD 233, the controlling section 12 can
determine that based on the stored information.

[0093] When another pull-down list is being displayed (YES in S203), the
controlling section 12 instructs the operating section 11 to delete the
being displayed pull-down list (S204). With this, the being displayed
pull-down list is deleted on the operating panel 202. In addition, the
information that the pull-down list is being displayed is deleted in the
HDD 233.

[0094] Next, the controlling section 12 obtains the function information
correlated with the transition screen information 131 and analyzes the
contents of the obtained function information (S205). In the function
information, a selection item to be allocated to the pull-down list is
defined. The function information is a part of the screen information 13,
and is defined by being correlated with the transition screen information
131 and is stored in the HDD 233. For example, the function information
(corresponding to the pull-down list 610p shown in FIG. 13) correlated
with the transition screen information 131 shown in FIG. 14 is defined as
follows.

[0095]FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the function
information. In FIG. 15, the function information is described in an XML
format.

[0096] In function information 132 (second definition information), a
function element is defined as a root element. A value
"PLOTTER_DOC_PAPER_FACE" of a name attribute 1321 of the function element
shows an identifier (ID) of the function information 132. This value is
equal to the value "PLOTTER_DOC_PAPER_FACE" of the content attribute 1313
in the pull-down list element 1311 of the transition screen information
131. That is, the function information 132 is correlated with the
transition screen information 131 by this value. Therefore, the
controlling section 12 obtains the function information 132 in which the
ID of the function information 132 is equal to the value of the content
attribute 1313 of the pull-down list element 1311.

[0097] The function element includes function elements 1322-1 through
1322-3 as sub-elements. The function elements 1322-1 through 1322-3b are
the corresponding selection items to be allocated into the pull-down list
610p. That is, one sub-function element corresponds to one selection
item. In FIG. 15, three function elements are described. That is, the
three function elements correspond to the three selection items in
pull-down list 610p shown in FIG. 13(b).

[0098] In each of the function elements 1322-1 through 1322-3, a resource
attribute is defined. A value of the resource attribute shows a file name
in which function detail information of a selection item corresponding to
the function element is stored. For example, the value of a resource
attribute 1322-3a of the function element 1322-3 is
"PullDownItem_SingleSide.xml". Therefore, the function detail information
of the third selection item is stored in a file whose name is
"PullDownItem_SingleSide.xml". The function detail information is
described below in more detail.

[0099] Next, the controlling section 12 compares the maximum displayable
number of the selection items obtained from the transition screen
information 131 with the number of the selection items allocated from the
function information 132 (S206). When the allocated number of the
selection items is less than the maximum displayable number (YES in
S207), the number of the selection items in the pull-down list 610p per
page is determined to be the allocated number+1 (for the title 610t)
(S208). When the allocated number of the selection items is the maximum
displayable number or more (NO in S207), the number of the selection
items in the pull-down list 610p per page is determined to be the maximum
displayable number-1 (for the title 610t)-1 (for the scroll item) (S209).
In this, when 1 is subtracted from the maximum displayable number, even
if the scroll item is added, the pull-down list 610p can be displayed
within the maximum displayable range H.

[0100] As described above, the number of the selection items per page is
determined to be a value which includes the title.

[0101] Next, the controlling section 12 sends the information of the
determined number of the selection items per page, the ID of the
pull-down button 610b, the title 610t, the icon of the header, the icon
of the footer, and the scroll item to the operating section 11 (S210).
That is, the controlling section 12 instructs the operating section 11 to
generate the pull-down list 610p. The process in S210 corresponds to the
process in S102 shown in FIG. 11. The controlling section 12 obtains the
function detail information of each selection item defined in the
function information 132 based on the resource attribute of each function
element and analyzes the contents of the obtained function detail
information (S211).

[0102] In the function detail information, detailed information of each
selection item is defined. The function detail information is a part of
the screen information 13. For example, the function detail information
of the third selection item shown in FIG. 15 is defined as follows.

[0103]FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the function detail information of the
third selection item shown in FIG. 15. In FIG. 16, function detail
information 133 is described in an XML format.

[0104] In the function detail information 133, a command element 1331
defines a command (process) to be executed when a selection item is
selected. A text element 1332 defines a character string (item name) to
be displayed corresponding to the selection item. In the text element
1332, a value "WID_PullDownItem_SingleSideText" of a name attribute 1322a
is an identifier (ID) of the character string. A value "Pos2" of a
position attribute 1332b is information to identify a position where the
character string is displayed in the selection item. A value "SingleSide"
of a text attribute 1332c is a character string to be displayed.

[0105] Based on the above function detail information, in the process of
S211, the controlling section 12 holds the character string, the ID of
the character string, and the position of the character string of each
selection item in the pull-down list 610p.

[0106] Next, processes to be executed in S103 shown in FIG. 11 are
described. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing processes when the operating
section 11 calculates a displaying position of the pull-down list.

[0107] First, the operating section 11 receives an instruction to generate
a pull-down list, an ID of a selected pull-down button, and the number of
selection items per page of the pull-down list from the controlling
section 12 (S301). This process corresponds to the process in S102 shown
in FIG. 11.

[0108] Next, the operating section 11 obtains an X coordinate value at the
left end of the selected pull-down button based on the ID of the selected
pull-down button, and determines the X coordinate value to be an X
coordinate value at the left end of the pull-down list (S302).

[0109]FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the X coordinate value in the
operating screen 600. In the operating screen 600 shown in FIG. 18, an X
coordinate value at the left end of the pull-down button 610b is "x1".
Therefore, an X coordinate value at the left end of the pull-down list
610p is determined to be "x1". The operating section 11 manages
structural elements such as buttons in the operating screen 600 by being
correlated the ID of the button with attribute information of the button
including a coordinate value and the size of the button.

[0110]FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a distance from the upper end of the
title 610t to the lower end of the displayable range H.

[0111] As shown in FIG. 19, the operating section 11 calculates a distance
L from the upper end "y0" of the title 610t of the pull-down button 610b
to the lower end of the displayable range H (S303). Next, the operating
section 11 obtains the height "h" of the pull-down button 610b (the title
610t) and calculates the displayable number of the selection items in the
distance L by dividing the distance L by the height "h" (S304). The
calculated displayable number of the selection items corresponds to the
maximum displayable number of the selection items when the displaying
position of the pull-down list 610p is not shifted to the upward
direction. Hereinafter, in some cases, the calculated displayable number
of the selection items is referred to as the basic displayable number of
the selection items.

[0112] In the embodiment of the present invention, the height of one
selection item is equal to the height of the pull-down button, and in
addition, the height of the title is equal to the height of the pull-down
button. However, their heights need not always be the same. When the
heights are different from each other, the displayable number of the
selection items is calculated by considering the height difference.

[0113] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the displayable number of the
selection items in the distance L. In FIG. 20, four selection items
including the title 610t can be displayed.

[0114] Next, the operating section 11 compares the number of the selection
items including the title per page of the pull-down list received from
the controlling section 12 with the basic displayable number of the
selection items (S305).

[0115] When the number of the selection items including the title per page
of the pull-down list received from the controlling section 12 is the
basic displayable number of the selection items or less (YES in S306),
the Y coordinate value "y0" at the upper end of the title 610t is
determined to be the Y coordinate value at the upper end of the pull-down
list 610p (S307).

[0116] When the number of the selection items including the title per page
of the pull-down list received from the controlling section 12 is more
than the basic displayable number of the selection items (NO in S306),
the operating section 11 compares "the number of the selection items
including the title per page of the pull-down list received from the
controlling section 12-1" with the basic displayable number of the
selection items (S308).

[0117] When "the number of the selection items including the title per
page of the pull-down list received from the controlling section 12-1" is
more than the basic displayable number of the selection items (YES in
S308), the operating section 11 determines that the Y coordinate value of
the pull-down list to be a value shifted upward by the number of the
heights "h" exceeded the compared result (S309). That is, the Y
coordinate value at the upper end of the pull-down list is shifted in the
upward direction by the number of heights "h" of "the number of the
selection items per page-1-the displayable basic number of the selection
items" from the Y coordinate value "y0".

[0118] When "the number of the selection items including the title per
page of the pull-down list received from the controlling section 12-1" is
equal to the basic displayable number of the selection items (NO in
S308), the operating section 11 shifts the title 610t in the upward
direction by the height "h" in the pull-down list (S310).

[0119]FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the operating screen 600 when the
number of the selection items including the title 610t per page of the
pull-down list 610p received from the controlling section 12 exceeds by
one the basic displayable number of the selection items. In FIG. 21, the
number of the selection items per page including the title 610t of the
pull-down list 610p received from the controlling section 12 is five, and
the basic displayable number of the selection items is four. In this
case, in order to display the four selection items in the operating
screen 600, the title 610t is shifted by the height "h" in the upward
direction. That is, the Y coordinate value at the upper end of the
pull-down list 610p is shifted from "y0" to "y1".

[0120] Next, processes in S106 shown in FIG. 11 are described in detail.
In the processes, the controlling section 12 sends information of the
selection items to the operating section 11. FIG. 22 is a flowchart
showing processes for sending information of the selection items to the
operating section 11 from the controlling section 12.

[0121] First, the controlling section 12 receives a report that the
pull-down list has been generated from the operating section 11 (S401,
corresponding to S105 in FIG. 11). The controlling section 12 determines
information of selection items (ID (identifier) of each item, a
displaying character string of each item, a displaying position of the
displaying character string, and so on) based on the function detail
information 133 shown in FIG. 16, and sends the determined results
(information) to the operating section 11 (S402, corresponding to S106 in
FIG. 11).

[0122] Next, processes in S107 shown in FIG. 11 are described in detail.
In the processes, the controlling section 12 generates the selection
items and displays the generated selection items on the pull-down list.
FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing processes for generating the selection
items by the operating section 11.

[0123] First, the operating section 11 generates a title at the uppermost
position of the pull-down list (S501). However, when the position of the
title is shifted to an upward position, as described in FIG. 6, the title
is generated at an upper position from the original position. In this,
the character string of the title and the icon of the background of the
title are determined based on the information sent from the controlling
section 12 described in S102 of FIG. 11 (S210 of FIG. 12).

[0124] Next, the operating section 11 compares "the number of the
selection items including the title per page of the pull-down list
received from the controlling section 12-1" with the basic displayable
number of the selection items (S502).

[0125] When "the number of the selection items including the title per
page of the pull-down list received from the controlling section 12-1" is
more than the basic displayable number of the selection items (YES in
S502), the operating section 11 generates "the basic displayable number-1
(for the scroll item)" of the selection times in the pull-down list
(S504), and the controlling section 11 generates the scroll item at the
lowest position of the pull-down list (S505).

[0126] When "the number of the selection items including the title per
page of the pull-down list received from the controlling section 12-1" is
the basic displayable number of the selection items or less (NO in S502),
the operating section 11 generates all the selection items in the
pull-down list under the title (S503).

[0127] The scroll item is determined based on information sent from the
controlling section 12 in S102 of FIG. 11 (S210 of FIG. 12). In addition,
the number of pages to be displayed can be calculated from the number of
the selection items to be displayed and the basic displayable number of
the selection items. Since the addition of the scroll item has been
considered beforehand (see S209 of FIG. 12), the scroll item does not
protrude from the displayable range H.

[0128] By the above processes, the operations of the pull-down list
described in FIGS. 4 through 10 are realized.

[0129] In FIG. 13, an example is described in which the scroll item is not
needed. Consequently, the transition screen information 131 shown in FIG.
14 and the function information 132 shown in FIG. 15 do not include
scroll information.

[0130] Next, an example is described in which a scroll item is required.

[0131]FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an operating screen when a scroll item
is displayed in a pull-down list.

[0132] As shown in FIG. 24(a), a pull-down button 710b is displayed on an
operating screen 700. In addition, a title 710t of the pull-down button
710b is displayed. When the pull-down button 710b is selected in FIG.
24(a), a pull-down list 710p is displayed on the operating screen 700.
The pull-down list 710p includes a scroll item 710s. The scroll item 710s
includes a forward button 710sf for turning pages and a backward button
710sb for returning (turning back the) pages. When the forward button
710sf is selected in FIG. 24(b), as shown in FIG. 24(c), a next page of
the pull-down list is displayed. In the example shown in FIG. 24, since
the number of the section items protruded from the first page is four, as
shown in FIG. 24(c), the four selection items are displayed. When the
backward button 710sb is selected in FIG. 24(c), the pull-down list 710p
is returned to that shown in FIG. 24(b).

[0133] The transition screen information correlated with the pull-down
button 710b (that is, the information of the structure of the pull-down
list 710p) is defined as follows. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing transition
screen information 134 of the pull-down list 710p. The format of the
transition screen information 134 (first definition information) shown in
FIG. 25 is similar to that of the transition screen information 131 shown
in FIG. 14.

[0134] However, as shown in FIG. 25, the transition screen information 134
includes eight list item elements 1342-1 through 1342-8 as sub-elements
of a pull-down list element 1341. That is, the maximum displayable number
of selection items is eight on the operating screen 700.

[0135] In addition, function information for defining selection items to
be allocated to the pull-down list 710p is defined as follows. FIG. 26 is
a diagram showing function information 135 of the pull-down list 710p.
The format of the function information 135 (second definition
information) shown in FIG. 26 is similar to that of the function
information 132 shown in FIG. 15. However, as shown in FIG. 26, in the
function information 135, eleven function elements 1351-1 through 1351-11
are defined as sub-elements of the root element.

[0136] As described above, the maximum displayable number of the selection
items in the pull-down list 710p is eight; however the number of the
selection items to be allocated to the pull-down list 710p is eleven.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 24, the scroll item 710s is added to the
pull-down list 710p. In this case, since the scroll item 710s is
displayed on the pull-down list 710p, the seven selection items of the
eleven section items to be allocated are displayed in the in the first
page of the pull-down list 710p and the remaining four selection items
are displayed in the second page of the pull-down list 710p. In this
case, the title 710t is generally included in the maximum displayable
number.

[0137] As described above, in the MFP 1 according to the embodiment of the
present invention, a selection item (parameter) can be selected in a
pull-down list on an operating screen. Therefore, the number of buttons
on the operating screen can be decreased. In addition, in the MFP 1
according to the embodiment of the present invention, the layered
structure is not deep. Therefore, the operability can be increased.

[0138] In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention,
a part of the selection items can be displayed in the upward direction in
addition to in the downward direction. Therefore, the operating screen
can be effectively utilized. Especially, when the size of the operating
screen is small in an image forming apparatus, the pull-down list
according to the embodiment of the present invention can be effectively
utilized.

[0139] In addition, since the selection items can be displayed in the
upward direction, using times of a scroll can be decreased and the
operability can be increased.

[0140] In addition, the basic displayable number of the selection items
can be calculated regardless of the position of the position of the
pull-down button on the operating screen.

[0141]FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an operating screen in which the same
three pull-down buttons are displayed at the corresponding different
positions as an assumption. As shown in FIG. 27, pull-down buttons 810b,
820b, and 830b having the same contents are displayed at the
corresponding different positions (heights). That is, the pull-down
button 820b is at a position lower than the pull-down button 810b by one
height "h" and the pull-down button 830b is at a position lower than the
pull-down button 810b by two heights "h".

[0142] In this case, in the MFP 1 according to the embodiment of the
present invention, the same pull-down lists 810P, 820p, and 830p are
displayed as shown in FIG. 28 as an assumption. FIG. 28 is a diagram
showing the operating screen 800 in which the same three pull-down lists
810p, 820p, and 830p are displayed at the corresponding different
positions as an assumption. In FIG. 28, the displayable range H is also
shown.

[0143] As shown in FIG. 28, when the pull-down button 810b is selected,
the pull-down list 810p is displayed on the operating screen 800. In this
case, the upper end of the pull-down list 810p is shifted upward by one
height "h" from the pull-down button 810b. In addition, when the
pull-down button 820b is selected, the pull-down list 820p is displayed
on the operating screen 800. In this case, the upper end of the pull-down
list 820p is shifted upward by two heights "h" from the pull-down button
820b. Further, when the pull-down button 830b is selected, the pull-down
list 830p is displayed on the operating screen 800. In this case, the
upper end of the pull-down list 830p is shifted upward by three heights
"h" from the pull-down button 830b.

[0144] As described above, since the basic displayable number of the
selection items is automatically calculated, even if the position of a
pull-down button is changed on an operating screen, the displaying
position of the pull-down list can be properly adjusted on the operating
screen. In FIGS. 27 and 28, actually, one pull-down button and one
pull-down list are displayed.

[0145] In the embodiment of the present invention, the maximum displayable
number of the selection items is determined by the transition screen
information. However, as described above, the maximum displayable number
of the selection items can be dynamically calculated based on the layout
information on the operating screen by using the height "h" and the
displayable range H.

[0146] In addition, the extending direction of the pull-down list can be
the upward direction instead of the downward direction from the position
of the pull-down button. That is, first, the pull-down list can be
extended in a direction in which as many as possible of the selection
items can be displayed. In addition, the upper end of the pull-down list
can be determined so that an approximately equal number of the selection
items is displayed in the upward and downward directions with the
selected pull-down button as the center. With this the displayable range
can be effectively utilized.

[0147] In addition, when a user can recognize the title of the pull-down
list, the position of the title is not limited to the upper end position
of the pull-down list.

[0148] In addition, the position of a scroll item is not limited to the
lower end position of the pull-down list. The scroll item can be
displayed at an upper position in the pull-down list. Further, a scroll
bar can be displayed at a side of the pull-down list. However, when a
touch panel is used as the operating screen, the scroll item is
preferable rather than the scroll bar from a view point of operability.

[0149] Further, the present invention is not limited to the specifically
disclosed embodiment, and variations and modifications may be made
without departing from the scope of the present invention.